Book Review: Invisible Planets - Ken Liu

Yet another compendium of Chinese sci-fi stories - and there are some great stories in this collection. There are also some essays about what makes Chinese science fiction Chinese. Based on my (limited) experience, I'd say one of the defining characteristics of the Chinese SF I've read is the way exposition is dispensed with and replaced by poetry.

Mankind streamed across the river of time, aiming straight for the Door Into Summer. In that moment, our tiny planet was falling like a single drop of dew in a boundless universe, tumbling toward that plane made up of the broken remains of a planet. "Grave of the Fireflies"

There's a good range in here, from ghost stories to an homage to 1984. Some of the literary allusions are helpfully footnoted to allow the more casual reader to follow along. I think that's a sensible way to expand the inclusiveness of the stories.

It's an excellent and varied collection. More hits than misses - and the misses are at least interesting.